ENCINO : Man Ordered to Trial in 2-Year-Old’s Death

A man was ordered Tuesday to stand trial in the death of a 2-year-old child whose mother was trying to flee with him to safety when gunfire erupted at an Easter Sunday celebration in an Encino park.

Citing a “strong case” based on witness identification and circumstantial evidence, Van Nuys Municipal Judge Jessica Perrin Silvers also ordered Larry Dean Shaw, 31, to be tried on two counts of attempted murder and being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm.

“The level of tragedy for everyone involved has just escalated out of control,” Silvers said as she urged Shaw’s family and friends to avoid contact with witnesses who have become fearful because of the gang overtones in the case.

Ryan Brown, a 2-year-old Los Angeles boy, was struck in the head by a bullet fired through a car window in Balboa Park when gang-related violence broke out at a picnic and Easter egg hunt.

During a preliminary hearing that began last week, Brown’s mother, Tamara Lee, testified that she was attempting to pull her child out of the car when a shot came through the back window.

James Anthony Wright, a 30-year-old North Hills man now confined to a wheelchair, and Damon Keith Napier, 29, of Sherman Oaks, were also wounded in the shooting spree.

Several witnesses identified Shaw, of Van Nuys, soon after the April 11 incident as the gunman who opened fire in the direction of the car.

However, key witnesses, including Lee, recanted during the preliminary hearing and refused to identify Shaw as the man who held a semiautomatic pistol in each hand.

Shaw is scheduled to be arraigned in Van Nuys Superior Court on June 29. Until then, he awill be held in lieu of $2 million bail.